Co-written with Din Merican*

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently lashed out at those he felt were out to besmirch his legacy. Soon thereafter Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, behaving as if he was the guilty party, went to great pains to reassure everyone that his predecessor was not causing him any headache!

The prime minister and his advisors would do well to remember that blowing out other people's candles is not the way to make your own shine brighter. It may only appear to be so.

While the proper accounting of Mahathir's tenure must await history's judgment, there is no question that Mahathir has been the best leader Malaysia has ever had. He transformed the nation. That is not a recent revelation for us; we have said it elsewhere before. His unique combination of towering (to co-opt the current clich) intellect, vast experience, and inner courage that he unhesitatingly used to defy tradition and accepted orthodoxy places him in a class unto himself as a leader.

That he was freely elected is not a tribute to democratic ideals rather to his personality. Modern democracies are inherently incapable of producing such statesmen; today's leaders are too preoccupied with pandering to special interest groups in order to get elected.

We are also on record as being Mahathir's severest critics, and so we do not say this lightly: Abdullah Badawi's team would do well to take full advantage of Mahathir's considerable talent and experience instead of engaging in puerile exercises to belittle the man.

It reflects strength and confidence, not weakness and indecisiveness, were Abdullah to consult Mahathir. The former prime minister is a national resource, not an obligatory burden. This does not mean blindly following his advice or command, rather to factor it in.

While we disagree with many of Mahathir's policies, we have never questioned his personal integrity and commitment to the nation. Indeed we stand in awe of them.

There are three qualities of Mahathir that the present administration ought to tap for maximal use. One is his undisputed standing in the Muslim and Third World; two, his considerable intellect and proven executive ability; and three, his willingness to tackle tough issues head on.

Shaking up the Arabs

The Muslim world is today badly in need of a major shakeup. Unfortunately only the Americans are providing the catalyst for this, and the jury is still out on the effectiveness of their endeavor.

Malaysia, being the chair country for the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), is uniquely positioned to take on this crucial role. Unfortunately we see no one in the present administration capable of undertaking this.

Enter Mahathir. His brand of bluntness and harsh rhetoric is exactly what is needed to shake up the entrenched and ageing Arab leaders. Give Mahathir the leadership of the OIC, and he will quickly give the organisation a much-needed boost.

He could also give Arab leaders a lesson or two on how to handle the West! If anyone could teach the Arabs on how to use the oil weapon, it would be Mahathir. We do not necessarily approve of this, nor do we think that it would be a prudent course. Having gained the trust of the Arabs and other Muslim leaders, Mahathir could go on and push them into modernising their societies. They can then begin embracing free enterprise and making the necessary investments in education instead of buying expensive but useless military hardware.

Mahathir's standing in the South could be leveraged to open its markets to Malaysia's goods and services. He could be our goodwill ambassador to lead our trade missions into these untapped markets.

Above all Mahathir is man of ideas; he is effectively a one-man think tank. His former deputy Musa Hitam once observed that Mahathir barked out initiatives a million a minute! Some of his ideas may need considerable modifications and better executions, but it would be silly not to tap his nimble mind.

This is reflected in his writings and speeches. He had no need for speechwriters; he could not care less about crafting memorable phrases or cute sound bites. His words came straight from his heart, and his ideas were not focus group tested, a refreshing rarity in today's leaders. He was not concerned whether others were working for or with him; he just wanted them to work!

Rebuild Umno

There is no indication that Abdullah's soft approach is working. People interpret that (and the prime minister has not given them reasons to think otherwise) as a sign of weakness and lack of resolve. He would do well to take a leaf from Mahathir's style. There are many apt descriptions of Mahathir, but "weak" and "lack of resolve" are not among them.

Mahathir's proven executive ability could be co-opted to rebuild Umno. The party today is disintegrating into dangerous factions, each with its own warlord. This is happening because of the weakness of the party's leader; they are quickly filling in the vacuum. Unchecked the party could be reduced into the equivalent of an Afghanistan, with the various factions consumed with unending wars with one another. The party's and the national agenda would then get sidetracked. Mahathir's executive experience and direct frontal approach could be harnessed for maximal benefit to Umno. This is the only approach those cantankerous Umno operatives and politicians can understand.

Mahathir had given much to the nation; he ought to be generously compensated in his retirement. He should also be provided with adequate office space and support staff. There is no need to appoint him as advisor to Petronas and Proton in order to give him these amenities. Doing so only complicates the corporate governance of those companies. Besides, Mahathir had been too closely associated with both companies for him to give objective and meaningful advice.

Just as President George W Bush, willingly enlisted the help of his predecessors (for example with the recent Tsunami relief efforts), so too should Abdullah not hesitate in co-opting his predecessor's help with specific projects or simply getting general advice.

Were Abdullah to do that, he as well as the nation would benefit immensely. If nothing else it would stop the current unseemly and barely concealed contemptuous exchanges of words between him and his predecessor.

*DIN MERICAN (dmerican@yahoo.com) is a Senior Research Fellow with the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, Phnom Penh. This represents his personal views. M BAKRI MUSA (bakrimusa@juno.com), a surgeon in Silicon Valley, California, is currently completing his latest book, Towards A Competitive Malaysia .